Disaster Survivor Benefit Clarification Act of 2015

Disaster Survivor Benefit Clarification Act of 2015

Expresses the sense of Congress that disaster loans made by the Small Business Administration (SBA) that carry interest and must be repaid should not be considered the same type of benefit as a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for purposes of calculating duplication of benefits under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act.

Amends the Stafford Act to provide that an SBA disaster loan made on or after January 1, 2012, shall not be considered financial assistance for purposes of the prohibition on receiving duplicative disaster assistance if: (1) such loan has been repaid in full; or (2) the borrower is making the required payments on time. Deems the borrower of any such loan made by the date of this Act's enactment for which the borrower was not making the required payments on time to be compliant with this Act if, within 60 days, the borrower becomes current on the loan payments.

[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2594 Introduced in House (IH)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2594

     To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
Assistance Act to ensure that the receipt of certain loans provided by 
  the Small Business Administration does not violate the prohibition 
  against receiving duplicative financial assistance in the case of a 
                               disaster.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              June 1, 2015

Mr. MacArthur introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
             Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
Assistance Act to ensure that the receipt of certain loans provided by 
  the Small Business Administration does not violate the prohibition 
  against receiving duplicative financial assistance in the case of a 
                               disaster.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Disaster Survivor Benefit 
Clarification Act of 2015''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
        Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122 et seq.) prohibits duplication 
        of benefits, including any Federal financial assistance or 
        insurance, which includes loans made by the Small Business 
        Administration which carry interest.
            (2) Loans made by the Small Business Administration were 
        aggressively marketed to Hurricane Sandy survivors, who were 
        also qualified for grants from the Federal Emergency Management 
        Agency.
            (3) Many survivors applied for these loans at the 
        encouragement of the Small Business Administration, without 
        knowing that receipt of these loans could make the survivors 
        ineligible for grants from the Federal Emergency Management 
        Agency.

SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that disaster loans made by the Small 
Business Administration that carry interest and must be repaid should 
not be considered the same type of benefit as a grant from the Federal 
Emergency Management Agency for the purposes of calculating duplication 
of benefits under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122 et seq.).

SEC. 4. SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION DISASTER LOANS PERMITTED.

    Section 312(b) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 
Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5155(b)) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) as paragraphs 
        (3) and (4), respectively; and
            (2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following new 
        paragraph:
            ``(2) Exemption for small business administration disaster 
        loans.--A loan made pursuant to section 7(b) of the Small 
        Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(b)) shall not be considered 
        financial assistance for the purposes of subsection (a) if--
                    ``(A) such loan has been repaid in full (including 
                interest); or
                    ``(B) the borrower of such loan is making the 
                required payments on time, as determined by the terms 
                of such loan.''.

SEC. 5. APPLICABILITY.

    The amendments made by section 4 shall apply to loans made pursuant 
to section 7(b) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(b)) that were 
made on or after January 1, 2012.

SEC. 6. EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN LOANS.

    For any loan made pursuant to section 7(b) of the Small Business 
Act (15 U.S.C. 636(b)) during the period beginning on January 1, 2012, 
and ending on the date of enactment of this Act in which the borrower 
was not making the required payments for such loan on time (as 
determined by the terms of such loan) the borrower shall be deemed to 
be compliant with the requirements of section 312(2)(B) of the Robert 
T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (as added by 
section 4 of this Act) if, within 60 days, the borrower becomes current 
on payments on the loan.
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